English for Young Learners:
Lesson Planning and Classroom Management
by Ignasia Yuyun
Management skills for teachers are very important to support successful teaching learning activities in classroom. Therefore, providing a structured environment where children consistently know what to expect, is the key to classroom management. Although, specific techniques change from teacher to teacher, the common denominator is the understanding that when students are well managed, there exists a better opportunity for everyone to learn.
Teachers create lesson plans to communicate their instructional activities regarding specific subject-matter. Almost all lesson plans developed by teachers contain student learning objectives, instructional procedures, the required materials, and some written description of how the students will be evaluated. Many experienced teachers often reduce lesson plans to a mental map or short outline. New teachers, however, usually find detailed lesson plans to be indispensable. Learn to write good lesson plans - it is a skill that will serve you well as a teacher. If you're really serious, become proficient in writing effective learning objectives. All lesson plans begin, or should begin with an objective. Toward that end, teachers have developed a self-instructional, interactive program that teaches this important skill within the context of lesson planning.
Classroom management skills are related to three main areas: creating and maintaining motivation, maintaining classroom control and discipline and organizing learning activities. Classroom management will also be influenced by teaching styles, the amount of pupil independence that is acceptable in the context, the amount of competition and cooperation the teacher establishes in the class and the role and the use of the L1 in the class.
1. Motivation
Motivation refers to feelings, a goal, a mental process, a certain type of behavior or a personal characteristic. More recently, motivation has been seen as a set of beliefs, thoughts and feelings that are turned into action. According to Dornyei (1998:117), “motivation has been widely accepted by both teachers and researchers as one of the key factors that influence the rate and success of second/foreign language (L2) learning”. In line with this, Cajkler and Addelman (2000), suggest that in order to keep levels of motivation high, language teachers should adopt a ‘critical attitude’ to the activities and tasks they use and the expectations they create. This is done so as to develop a healthy questioning of the work they prepare for their pupils and the schemes of work they follow.
We have already referred to the need to provide a classroom atmosphere which promotes pupils’ confidence and self-esteem so that they can learn more effectively and enjoyably. This echoes two key factors in motivating learners that Dornyei describes. The first is how far a learner expects to be successful in doing the task, the second is how much the learner thinks being successful in doing the task is important.
2. Classroom control and discipline
Here we shall consider five main areas that help to create an effective learning environment.
a. Establishing routines
When children enter school they are faced with a new set of social routines and relationships which even a kindergarten may not have prepared them for. According to Nelson (1977) children develop scripts, or mental maps, to understand routines in their lives in the same way that adults do.
Young children gradually become familiar with established classroom routines that help to make them feel confident. Anxious or immature learners will tend to react negatively to changes in the normal classroom pattern, so it is a good idea to develop familiar patterns with young learners in their first year of schooling.
The children may become very bewildered and uncomfortable if the teacher talks to them all the time in a strange foreign language. Gradually introducing pupils to use English for a short period of times through songs or rhymes will help to ease them in slowly.
b. Finding a balance
Finding the right balance between order and flexibility is very important. The most effective environment for learning is often found in a classroom where the teacher is firm but kind and encouraging so that pupils, especially very young children, feel confident and happy.
One way of establishing this is quickly getting to know pupils’ names, as this will help to create a secure and friendly atmosphere. It will also enable the teacher to control and discipline the class much more effectively.
c. Getting the pupils’ attention
With young pupils teachers may need to establish a signal for getting the pupils’ attention. When teachers want to gain the attention of the whole class by following these steps:
· Firmly name the children still talking.
· Start a well-known activity or routine or give instructions for a new activity to keep the pupils’ attention.
· Wait for quiet before beginning a new activity.
· Once there routines have become established you should be able to cut down on the amount of time teachers spend disciplining pupils.
d. Finding an acceptable noise level
Most language teachers would find this acceptable, as long as the talk is ‘on task’. If the noise level rises too much, pick out the noisiest group, name on of the children in the group and gesture them to quieten down. Remember that the noisier the teacher is, the noisier the children will become.
e. Giving praise
Teachers can quickly establish good relationship with pupils by praising good behaviors, commenting on good work, making helpful suggestions and encouraging pupils’ efforts. This is important in setting the right atmosphere, providing a good model for children to follow and boosting pupils’ confidence and self-esteem.
What teachers are trying to do when giving praise is pin-point what teachers like by being specific, give praise with sincerity and enthusiasm in variety of ways. Here, teachers can use praise consistently and frequently, especially when pupils are first learning something. Teachers also can praise groups or the whole class as well as individuals. At last, vary to whom teachers give praise and look for and name at least two children who are doing what teachers want to avoid ‘favoritism’.
3. Organizing learning activities
When children endlessly repeat activities on the same topics or when language activities are pitched at the wrong level or are too mechanical, they are liable to become frustrated and noisy. In some contexts pupils’ main motivation is to pass English test and they may be less willing to engage in activities which they think so not prepare them for these. Therefore, teachers must determine an appropriate balance between teaching to the tests and other language learning.
a. Dealing with bilingual pupils
If these pupils’ learning needs are not catered for, they may become bored or disruptive, which is a pity as their skills can be seen as a bonus. Use strategies for encouraging these children to: ‘show and tell’ some of their experiences in the country of the target language; try to explain the instructions for games to groups or even act as the teacher on demonstrating a game; help others in groups; make recordings of stories or other listening activities; write stories, instructions or descriptions for other pupils to read and act upon; make games which require sentence cards pr board games and ‘Chance’ cards: test pupils, e.g. spelling and complete individualized work at a higher level.
b. Managing pair and group work
Berman (1998) suggests that very young learners prefer working alone and can be reluctant to share. For some activities it is often easier and more fruitful to organize work in pairs than in groups where pupils can easily work with the person next to or behind them.
There are several ways of organizing groups to work together. The easiest is to ask pupils who sits near one another to form a pair or group. Another method is to use the children’s choice. Such friendship groups are probably the most popular with pupils and these may work well. Other ways of organizing pupils into groups include choosing group members using features of a project the pupils may be doing, or language they have just learned.
c. The effect of different kinds of classroom activities
Activities which usually engage and stir pupils are those where the learners are physically or mentally active and thus more involved in their learning. These include critical thinking activities, physical activities, and calm activities.
Here are some general principles for using stir and settle activities:
· Start a lesson with a settling activity to calm pupils down if they seem very lively or restless.
· Make sure lively, stirring work returns to something calmer and more settling.
· Make sure everyone has something to do, especially in group work.
· Avoid activities which are emotionally or intellectually ‘empty’ or meaningless.
· Try not to have a sequence of only settling or stirring activities throughout the whole class.
d. The mixed ability class
Many textbooks assume that all pupils are at the same language level, whereas the average classroom is normally of very mixed ability. The following are the checklists that may help teachers to pinpoint difficulties which may have arisen because of the organization of learning activities:
· Was the task given to pupils too difficult?
· Was the task rather boring and mechanical with too little contextualization or focus on meaning?
· Was the task too easy?
· Was there too much ‘dead time’?
In each lesson there should be a core of the most important concepts, skills and language that should be straightforward enough for everyone to do. Teachers may then need extension activities to challenge the more able pupils and more support activities for the less able. Making activities that cater for different levels is called mixed ability teaching or ‘differentiation’. To do this successfully, teachers can organize differentiated learning activities by considering the following seven key factors: the text used, the task used, the support provided, the outcome demanded, the ability group used, the range of activities used, and the choice of activity.
When teachers are doing in providing more support is choosing a selection from the following kinds of scaffolding:
· Breaking down the learning sequence into smaller steps
· Simplifying the language, narrowing the range of possibilities
· Using more spoken language before moving onto written language
· Translating abstract concepts into more concrete ones
· Using physical movement
· Using more audio-visual support
· Providing a greater variety of activities
e. Time management
It is very useful to plot realistic timings for the completion of certain activities; this avoids having to rush, which may lead to inattention of ineffective learning.
When ending a lesson, here are several points to bear in mind:
· Plan
· Finish work on the main teaching point a little early rather than late
· Take time to explain homework beforehand and give an example
· Plan a teacher-led review session at the end of each class
f. Classroom organization and layout
Careful planning of classroom is very important as it helps to create an organized and secure atmosphere. There are six points to consider:
· A grid plan made to scale is especially useful if you have a large class squeezed into a small area
· Think carefully about whether you want the children to sit in rows or groups
· If you decide to have a ‘teaching base’, make sure you have a clear view of the whole room
· A story corner for younger children is also a good idea.
· You may also like to include a listening or computer corner which is screened off by cupboards or screens to provide a quiet corner for listening to cassette of stories or for a computer activity
· Make sure you include some areas to display children’s work, using notice-boards, screens or a table
g. Keeping teaching records
Teaching records are a kind of teaching log, memory aid, or remainder of the language points or the stories and topics which have been covered in a term.
Rivers (1981: 484) reminds us that ‘ A lesson is not a haphazard collection of more or less interesting items, but a progression of interrelated activities which reinforce and consolidate each other in establishing the learning towards which the teacher is directing his or her efforts’.
Ur (1996: 213) describes a lesson as follows: ‘A lesson is a type of organized social event that occurs in virtually all cultures. Lessons in different places may vary in topic, time, place, atmosphere, methodology and materials, but they all, essentially, are concerned with learning as their main objective, involve the participation of learner(s) and teacher(s), and are limited and pre-scheduled as regards time, place, and membership’.
1. What is a good lesson?
A good lesson is adaptable and flexible; is a back-up system; has clear objectives; has a variety of activities, skills, interaction, materials; caters for individual learning styles; has interesting, enjoyable content; has an appropriate level of challenge and is well prepared, well planned and well timed.
In line with this, Kizlik stated that good lesson plans do not ensure students will learn what is intended, but they certainly contribute to it. Think of a lesson plan as a way of communicating, and without doubt, effective communication skills are fundamental to all teaching. Lesson plans also help new or inexperienced teachers organize content, materials, and methods. When you are learning the craft of teaching, organizing your subject-matter content via lesson plans is fundamental. Like most skills, you'll get better at it the more you do it and think of ways of improving your planning and teaching based on feedback from your students, their parents, and other teachers. Developing your own lesson plans also helps you "own" the subject matter content you are teaching, and that is central to everything good teachers do. (http://www.adprima.com/wlo5.htm)
2. Why plan a lesson?
Children learn more easily when they know what to expect in a lesson and what the teacher expects of them. It makes them feel more secure and more confident. It also enables them to predict situations and the language and behavior likely to be used in them.
A well-planned lesson makes a teacher feel more confident and professional. A lesson planned in advance in all respects, with clear aims, clear statements of how the aims are going to be achieved, how time will be managed for each stage, how the class is to be arranged, which visual aids and technical aids will be used, material prepare in advance, means that a teacher can give full attention to the pupils before, during and after the lesson, and to parents should they have contact with them.
The process of reflection helps teachers monitor their teaching and identify their strong and weak points as well as evaluate their pupil’s learning and form the basis for future planning.
Finally, lesson planning provides accountability by providing a record of work which can be shown to school authorities, inspectors and parents, or used by another teacher who may have to substitute for the class.
3. What is involved in the lesson planning process?
a. Syllabus
A syllabus provides a list of the language items that are to be taught, how they are to be taught in which order, and how long it should take to teach them. The syllabus is provided through the contents page, the course map or a scope and sequence chart. Besides, the accompanying teacher’s guide to a course will usually provide detailed guidelines on how to teach each lesson than those suggested.
Initially, less experienced teachers are likely to follow a plan closely but, with more experience, will learn to adapt course books and lessons in a much more flexible way according to the pupils’ needs and interests.
b. Learners’ needs
The needs of the children and how they learn must be considered first so that teachers achieve a balance between the language aims of the syllabus and the needs of the children, which involve their all round general education.
A major consideration when planning a lesson is how to provide optimal conditions for learning so children are motivated and interested in learning, understand what they are being asked to do and why, get plenty of meaningful exposure to the language, get plenty of variety and are allowed to work at their own pace, experience success, feel confident and secure to try out language, have plenty of opportunities to use language, and opportunities to review and reflect on what they have done and why.
Other aspects to be considered are the linguistic and cognitive demands of language activities. We need to ensure that the tasks we ask our pupils to carry out in the language classroom are ones with reasonable degree of effort or challenge, can be completed successfully. This means that we need to be able to evaluate tasks and materials in terms of the linguistic and cognitive demands they make on our learners, and to be aware of the kinds of tasks pupils can cope with at specific stages of their development.
c. Content areas, materials, and methodology
Content areas provide the material as well as suggest the way things should be taught. Teachers need to evaluate whether the subject matter or content, material and the methodology is entirely appropriate for pupils.
Methodological preparation can help pupils understand the reasons for choosing a certain methodology, decide to modify this slightly by adapting and supplementing materials to keep more in line with their expectations.
4. How can I structure a lesson, select, sequence, and time activities?
The typical structure of most lessons consists of three main stages: a beginning, a middle and an end.
The selection and sequencing of activities throughout a lesson needs careful consideration.
· Activities that settle children either positively in the sense of calming them or negatively by boring them into some kind of unresponsive stupor.
· Activities that stir pupils in the sense of either stimulating or unsettling them.
· Teachers need to know more than what language learning it will encourage.
· Teachers must be aware of what general behavior it is likely to encourage, it will help teachers judge if the activity or sequence of activities is a good choice for a particular lesson or group of pupils.
· Teachers need to consider the involvement factor when selecting and sequencing activities.
· Teachers need to think in term of variety, firstly think of how teachers can offer variety and then how best to combine different activities (types of activities, types of interaction, language skill, tempo/pace, stir/settle, involve/ occupy, difficulty, level of pupil responsibility, classroom arrangement, materials).
The followings are some general guidelines teachers may like to consider are:
· Begin and end lesson so that children perceive their English lesson as an ‘event’ which has a specific structure: a beginning, middle and an end.
· Depending on how long lesson is, consider putting harder activity earlier as pupils will probably be fresher and more energetic.
· Decide at which point it is best for class to be lively
· Think carefully about transitions from one stage or activity cycle to the next.
· End on a positive note.
Good time management skills facilitate the smooth running of a lesson. Knowing about the linguistic and cognitive demands that certain lessons make on your pupils will help you judge how long an activity is likely to take.
5. How can I write a lesson plan?
There is no ‘correct’ way to write a lesson plan, but it should give a clear picture of what you intend to do (aims) and how you intend to achieve them (procedures).
a. Use a lesson planning/record sheet
|
Date ________________ Class _________________ length of lesson ___________________ Materials ____________________________________________________________________
|
  Aims Plan (what I intend to do) Record (what I actually did) |
Grammatical structures |
Functions |
Vocabulary |
Pronunciation |
Skills |
Learning to learn |
Other: social, psychological, Cultural, educations/cross- curricular, citizenship education |
Classroom management |
Assumption |
Anticipated difficulties |
Evaluation: Did I achieve my aim? What worked well? Why? Why not? What would I do differently next lesson? Why? |
b. Decide how to achieve aims
The procedures below applies the Plan-Do-Review provides clearly defined stages and combines the development of meta-cognitive and cognitive strategies. The different stages on the plan include:
· Plan: Beginning the lesson
- Warm-up
- Reviewing of work covered in previous lesson
- Informing pupils of the lesson aims
· Do: Activity cycle
- Plan: Activity cycle (s)
- Do: Activity cycle(s)
- Review: Activity cycle(s)
· Review: Ending the lesson
